1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an obstacle detection apparatus for a vehicle, more particularly to an obstacle detection apparatus for a vehicle that is able to avoid a delay in detecting a low reflection object, such as a human being (pedestrian), without being affected by a high reflection object, such as a delineator.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a technique to emit a laser beam (electromagnetic wave) in front of (traveling direction of) a vehicle to scan a horizontal direction that is parallel to the road surface, receive reflection waves from a reflection object(s), and detect an obstacle such as a human being or vehicle on the road based on the received reflection waves exceeding a detection threshold value, as taught, for example, by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 11 (1999)-115660.